China gives overflight permission to Indian Air Force
Dated 18/6/2006
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Beijing: As an exceptional gesture that reflected growing warmth in bilateral ties, China has allowed an aircraft with Indian Air Force insignia, which was carrying Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Murli Deora, to cross its territory for the first time in over 40 years.
The Brazilian Embraer aircraft of IAF's VIP squadron carrying Deora, who is Indian prime minister's special envoy to the summit of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and Conference on Interactions and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, was allowed to fly into and out of China, Doordarshan News said here, last night.
Deora and his nine-member team flew first to the eastern megapolis Shanghai and later westward to Almaty in Kazakhstan with a night halt at Chengdu, the center of China's military aircraft manufacturing.
Indian diplomats described China's gesture as a sign of growing trust and warmth between the two Asian giants, whose ties witnessed improvement since the 1962 war.
In 2001, Beijing rejected Indian request for an air corridor for the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's special flight to St Petersburg through the Chinese route to save on several hours of tiring journey over Iran.
